Islington Tribune - News: Bulldozers
Bulldozers move in as tenants welcome £40m estate revamp
DEMOLITION has begun at a Holloway estate that became a haven for drug dealers and prostitutes.
Bulldozers and wrecking balls moved in last week at the Market estate, off Market Road, where tenants are being gradually moved to new homes as their old flats are demolished.
Southern Housing Group, which bought the estate from Islington Council in 2004, promises that rebuilding means there will no longer be dark corners for dealers and prostitutes to lurk in.
In recent years the estate’s warren-like alleys became a haunt of those selling illicit sex, heroin and crack cocaine.
Residents say that minor work already undertaken, coupled with increased police patrols, has had an immediate effect.
Most people who live on the estate have welcomed the £40 million rebuilding, which they say is long overdue.
Resident Ashley James, 30, said: “It was bad. There have been shootings on the estate. I used to be scared of the kids but it has improved recently. I think the demolition will help ease the problems.”
Another resident, Michael Jennings, 33, said: “When the scooter craze was at its height, kids tore around causing problems, but it’s not as bad as it used to be.”
Problems with hard drugs and prostitutes increased following the redevelopment of King’s Cross, which many blame for forcing dealers and vice girls up Caledonian Road and onto the estate.
Anti-social behaviour orders issued in neighbouring Camden, only a few hundred yards from the estate, brought troublemakers into the area.
But a police clampdown on kerb-crawling around Market Road has seen a dramatic reduction in prostitution.
Last Monday’s demolition began with the 12 flats at Clocktower Place.
So far, more than 50 families have moved into their new homes, with 140 new homes due to be completed by September.
In a ballot in 2004, 88 per cent of tenants voted in favour of the redevelopment.
Bulldozers move in as tenants welcome £40m estate revamp
DEMOLITION has begun at a Holloway estate that became a haven for drug dealers and prostitutes.
Bulldozers and wrecking balls moved in last week at the Market estate, off Market Road, where tenants are being gradually moved to new homes as their old flats are demolished.
Southern Housing Group, which bought the estate from Islington Council in 2004, promises that rebuilding means there will no longer be dark corners for dealers and prostitutes to lurk in.
In recent years the estate’s warren-like alleys became a haunt of those selling illicit sex, heroin and crack cocaine.
Residents say that minor work already undertaken, coupled with increased police patrols, has had an immediate effect.
Most people who live on the estate have welcomed the £40 million rebuilding, which they say is long overdue.
Resident Ashley James, 30, said: “It was bad. There have been shootings on the estate. I used to be scared of the kids but it has improved recently. I think the demolition will help ease the problems.”
Another resident, Michael Jennings, 33, said: “When the scooter craze was at its height, kids tore around causing problems, but it’s not as bad as it used to be.”
Problems with hard drugs and prostitutes increased following the redevelopment of King’s Cross, which many blame for forcing dealers and vice girls up Caledonian Road and onto the estate.
Anti-social behaviour orders issued in neighbouring Camden, only a few hundred yards from the estate, brought troublemakers into the area.
But a police clampdown on kerb-crawling around Market Road has seen a dramatic reduction in prostitution.
Last Monday’s demolition began with the 12 flats at Clocktower Place.
So far, more than 50 families have moved into their new homes, with 140 new homes due to be completed by September.
In a ballot in 2004, 88 per cent of tenants voted in favour of the redevelopment.
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